Mazda 3 Air Conditioning troubleshooting and clutch coil replacement 

Very articulate video. Thank you for taking the time to explain and show this repair in great detail with various camera angle set ups and tip. One of the best teachable repairs on youtube bar none. It would have taken considerable time, I am sure. Appreciate you doing it.

Good solder job. So many folks don't get the "heat the wire, not the solder" concept. That electrical tape will unwrap (the adhesive on electrical tape isn't meant to withstand engine temps) and the solder joint will short to ground and blow the fuse. Get a piece of shrink tubing that will fit over the connector (doesn't have to be small)--about 3 inches long. Uncouple the connector, slide it on the wire and over the solder joint. You don't even have to heat/shrink it if you don't want to. It will outlast the car.

Thank you, this is possibly one of the best mechanic videos on RU-vid.

READ THIS. I was having an issue w my AC. It turned off in the middle of a drive and got hot. I looked under, and the clutch wasnt engaging. I used my meter to check for 12V and it was receiving no power. I ran a wire from the battery to the compressor and it engaged, so the coil was good. It ended up being the ac fuse. Not the ac coil relay, but the smaller 10a fuse. Just another solution in case you're having issues.

Thank you for taking the time to make this video and your clear and concise walkthrough.

This video helped a lot. I had exactly the same problem with my 2007 Mazda3 S and was able to fix my AC by following these steps. Thank you so much for such a detailed presentation.

Brilliant. This guy is a genius. Haven't torn into this project yet, but I'm sure that when I do it will go well. Many thanks to the poster for doing such a FANTASTIC job and taking the time to make this video..

WARNING! There are 3 clips in this system. Only two need to be pulled and they are both clips that you have to widen to remove. The third one, seen at 9:25 in the clip, is tiny, requires that you close it to remove, and is EXTREMELY dangerous. Do not remove this tiny, inner pin as doing so will release all of the refrigerant and begin the internal destruction of the compressor. A small sleeve will also go shooting across the room which could cause grave injury. Watch very carefully which clips are removed. Otherwise, this video is spot on. I had a lot of problems getting the wires disconnected and it took me over a half hour. The connector even "came apart" at one point, but it's a standard spade connector and all you have to do is push in back in and give it an extra push with a very tiny screwdriver until it doesn't come apart under slight tugging. When I put the belt on, it wasn't completely in the groove. I used the rubber part of a screwdriver handle to push on the belt just before it goes on the pulley. Then I kept turning the crankshaft. Oh - the crankshaft uses a 21mm socket, not a 22mm socket. Or at least it was on my vehicle. Man do I love breaker bars. Made this job a work smarter not harder endeavor. I didn't have a torque setting for the 5mm screw. 10lbs felt about the same place it was when I pulled it out.

Very well done, better than other clutch-coil replacement videos because, 1) you did it in place, instead of removing the compressor and then doing it in a vise, and 2) you didn't walk us through the steps AFTER you had already completed the repair. Old vid, i know, but the internet is "forever," so THANK YOU! 👍👍

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this. My 2010 Mazda 5 AC now works great. We had the same problem.

Thank you brother! Replaced the coil in my daughter's 2008 last weekend, actually replace the entire clutch because that's what came from Amazon! Saved me hundreds and saved my poor, entitled daughter from a couple of months of sweating behind the wheel... Kids these days.

Thanks for the video. It was very informative and easy to follow. I will be replacing the ac clutch including the pulley my 2006 Mazda3 later this week.

Thanks for posting this...I was actually just replacing the bearing in my '98 Protege but watching some videos of other Mazda A/C repairs for a bit of overview. Being older, my pulley/bearing was pretty cheezed on, and the body of the car interfered with any hope of using a puller. But a soak with PB and some tapping on one side while pulling on the other, like a stuck brake drum, and it worked its way off. If anyone does this be sure you only tap the outer edge, don't hit the friction face or your belt grooves.

Ur video inspired me to troubleshoot my ac problem and was exact same issue ..that said i followed what was done here and i hv beautiful cold air in my car ...kudos man

You are patient and resourceful and I am not so I’m probably headed to a mechanic. Excellent video.

For months I thought I had a bad compressor. Stumbled upon this video and it ended up being a corroded wire from the clutch coil the whole time. I forgot to check the easiest solutions first. Lesson learned!

Thanks so much. Was exactly my problem. I didn't know you could replace the clutch w/o removing compressor

Thanks so much for posting this. I have the exact same car ( even the color!) and am having the same issues.

Not performing this but watched for fun after a few drinkypoo's since there's always something to learn from watching ppl work, never seen the tie wrap trick so that was a cool trick to pick up. Appreciate you taking your time to do this good sir, cheers.

I wanted to say thanks! I was able to do this fix on my 2005 mazda3 2.3L and my AC finally works again. It died out of nowhere, still pushing cold air until that last time. I knew it couldn't be an issue with freon since the air was not gradually getting warmer, the AC just stopped working. I found your video and for my car the compressor connects to a cable that is shared by another that goes towards the top. If you're looking at all three cable it looks like a 'Y'. The compressor cable is wrapped around the compressor, and is clipped onto the engine block on the side and then disappears towards the driver side, maybe 6 inches long altogether. Another cable it shares a connection with goes towards the top of the engine, which you don't have to do anything with. Pulling off the clutch plate was exactly as you described in the video and it pulled off without a problem. Removing the pulley needed some soft taps with a hammer from behind. When I got the pulley off I knew for sure that the coil was bad. The inside ring of the coil was no longer a solid black ring, it was yellow and deformed. Putting everything back together was the same, except I forgot a snap ring and had to take everything apart again lol. My advice to everyone is to go slow and take your time, because removing the clutch plate was pretty much impossible after everything was reinstalled already. Im guessing the new coil was the cause for the difficulty in removal. This is definitely doable for any DIY mechanic however, and 50.00 dollars is a lot cheaper than a new compressor. Good luck! Tools used: car jack, tire wrench, Internal snap ring pliers, socket wrench, 12mm socket, 21mm socket, 14mm socket, 5mm allen tool/socket, heat shrink to water proof wiring, zip ties (installing new ac belt), thread lock for the 5mm bolt.

You have given me the courage to try this. You are absolutely right that a "master certified mechanic" at Pep Boys wants to replace the entire system at more than $1,000. I'd rather get rid of the car since it has 120k miles, but you have given me hope. I'll definitely do the diagnostic tests before doing anything.

Nice! That really helps a lot, especially with getting the belt back on. I think my compressor is leaking so mounting the belt was confusing, but this helps! Thank you!

Great job! Well explain and very illustrative. Thank you!

Glad you were able to diagnose the problem and made the simple fix! My 2005 Toyota Corolla did the exact same thing. I was driving it and all of a sudden, the A/C wasn't blowing cold. Got home and realized the clutch on my compressor wasn't engaging. I knew my freon was ok so checked the voltage to the compressor, that was ok. Checked for continuity on the coil and it was open. A few days later and 20 bucks from E-bay and my problem was solved and no expensive A/C repairs. I just bought the coil like you did and that was about 4 years ago and I use my A/C all the time and luckily it was a open A/C clutch coil. It's a good feeling when you find out it was just a simple and inexpensive fix. Great job in your diagnosing your A/C problem, just like a Pro...Aloha

good job, my daughter has the same car with an AC problem I'm her dad and gonna soon be trouble shooting it, hopefully it's the same issue. Thank you for the very professional video

very nice. Videos like these really help people like me who like to do small jobs like this by themselves. It saves a lot of money, i am sure a mechanic would have charged a lot of money for this.

I had the same issue! Meaning on my mazda 3 bk 2.0 s-vt petrol engine 150 hp, when turning on AC nothing happened just warm air in stead of cool air. Checked visually: engine on, AC on and the 3 big bolts from the AC pulley were not spinning. Followed instructions in this video and checked the 12w plug and there was signal given and on the coil end infinite ohms. Removed coil, not available for purchasing in Romania, I had my father-in-law remake the coil wiring (he is a specialist in this field) mounted back and before having the belt on tested if the clutch is working: it is working. Belt on AC on cold air in the vent!!! Prior checked the gas inside the system there was 350grams?! Added 150 more as the sistem showed it should have. By trying this I saved around 500 EUR. It coated me around 50 in total (belt and usual price for coil remake) Thank you for this video! Try before buying a new AC as all services would suggest.

Thank you so much for this video. Spot on perfection, I was able to fix my sons AC on his 2006 Mazda3 for $120. The mechanic wanted $1700. 😂😂😂

Excellent video! Thank you. My Mazda3 Sport did not need the coil but your troubleshooting helped me. When I disconnected the connector at the compressor I had correct ohms at the coil but NO POWER at the other end. I put a jumper on the battery and provided 12 volts to the coil and it clicked and engaged. As I traced the power wire there is another connector higher up. As I attempted to disconnect it the wire feel out! This was the problem. A little soldering and heat shrink tubing and she’s running ice cold again. Thanks again!

I ordered the same replacement kit, but I didn't cut/soder the wire. If you carefully remove the 4 bolts holding the AC compressor, you can wiggle it around to have access to one Phillips head screw that holds the wire harness to the compressor. I flat head screw driver will help remove the safety sensor. But honestly, if you follow this video step by step, it is very clear and well made.

I did the same job on my 2007 Mazda 3, 3 years ago. The dealers and garages wanted to replace the whole compressor for about $700-1000 CDN. My son brought me back a clutch Kit (Pulley, Bearing, Coil, Plate) from one of his business trips to the US for a total cost of $69 US or $95 CDN, with the exchange. The rest was just my own labour.

Thanks for the video, great attention to detail.

Thank you for your video I'm working on a 2006 Mazda 5 same engine same setup. Used my Power Probe to provide 12 volts to my coil and it did not engage. Now I just got to grab a multimeter and test for resistance. Probably going to be doing the exact same repair you did.

Nice video! Was very informative! Can't wait to see if this fixes my sons mazda.

Thanks for this video! Just did this work last weekend and it fixed my problem. I have a few comments: I used a kit that you can buy from Amazon (RYC-Remanufactured-Compressor-Clutch-EG463-CL, $105) or from RYC directly which is what I did. It was $20 cheaper than Amazon and RYC ships free via Fed-X 2nd day. While I only needed the coil, I used all the parts and the fit was perfect on my 2008 3s. The OEM pully looked OK, but had a bit of drag on the bearing. The other manufacturer on Amazon (ECCPP) had a ton of bad company reviews, so I decided it was just going to be a poor quality item. Get a good quality snap ring pliers for this. I tried a Harbor Freight cheapie ($4) first and it worked to get the pulley snap ring off, but it's not long enough to reach the coil snap ring without risking gouging of the pulley bearing surface. Channel Lock has a $30 tool (P/N 927) that's good quality and comes with a variety of tips. It made getting the stiffer coil snap-ring on and off very easy. The kit comes with new snap rings. Make sure to get the coil snap ring installed correctly. The coil should be securely locked in place when the snap ring is properly installed. The idea about dropping the compressor to get at the temperature switch is a good one, but I did not do this. The RYC coil did not come with the switch and, in my experience, those type of bi-metal switches rarely fail. I left the main serpentine belt loose while I stretched the AC belt on. This way, the zip tie doesn't get caught up in the main belt making it easier to remove. Consider adding a bit of threadlocker to the 5mm bolt. I used Loctite Blue (medium strength). Reasonably strong and you can get it apart again if you have to.

Success! Thanks so much for this video. It took me almost the entire day to do the repair, however. I was going slow as having never attempted this type of repair before. My '04 2.3 was a bit different, but overall the concepts were the same. I ended up splicing the coil to the old connectors. Also, I needed a pulley puller to get the old pulley off. With 193K on the odo my old parts were in bad shape. I replaced everything - coil, pulley, plate and belt. Fingers crossed that it stays working! Thanks again for making this video. I really appreciate it!

That was fantastic!!! Thanks. I enjoyed watching it.

Great video. I will be using this today. Thank you!

most educational video I ever seen

Wow great job, and you sure made it look easy...

Very good video. It helped me a lot. Thanks

Great Vid and Charlie thanks for the heads up

Great video, opened the wheel well up yesterday to change out the coil and was able to complete it in ~3 hours (this is after having to go buy a 2nd belt which I'll comment on). But great detail, and luckily when I got the belt on, the clutch engaged and the click was a huge relief - knowing I could avoid replacing the whole compressor. A few comments and background on my installation ('07 Mazda 3 2.0 130k miles) - I was hoping to test the coil before taking it out but was unable to. It may be possible but I wasn't sure I was able to get the ground properly without taking it out completely. I used the standard car jack and put the car on a jackstand once I got it up. I took the wheel and plastic wheel well liner off which was definitely necessary to have access. I used pb blaster to loosen the allen bolt and was able to get it out with just a standard wrench. NOTE - Mine would not fit a 5.5mm wrench like the video said. Could have been corrosion but even 5 was too big and 4 was too small. I luckily had an SAE wrench that would be somewhere btwn 4-5 mm in metric (I forget what size) that fit snuggly and I was able to get it off with that. I'd recommend having a few sizes available From there everything went as pictured in the video for the most part, I did not require a pulley puller and just tapped it lightly with the hammer to loosen the grip and pulled it off. Tested the new coil once I took it off and it was in fact shot. When I looked at it, it looked pretty beat up, rusted, fried etc. So I assumed it was. Put the new coil on no problem and got everything back on. The area I had an issue was putting the belt back on however. At first I did not have the ziptie hole at the same place that it was in the video. I didn't realize until after, but this is what caused my problem. Line up the zip tie with where the author has it in the video. You need to make sure to only tie the new belt on and not also tie the other belt that is on there that leads higher. You can see at 20:08 in the video the right place for the zip to be. You can also see the 2nd belt you want to avoid leading away below the zip. It's tough to see but points at an ~45 degree angle to the right. If you do tie both belts on (which I did) it will eventually snap when you get to a certain point turning it. For me this caused the belt to not get all the way on and instead the belt threading began to strip as I turned it and the new belt became useless. I had to go to autozone and get a new belt at this point which was very frustrating. Luckily when I got back I realized what I had done and was more careful. I was able to get the belt on with a few turns, start it up and heard the click. Very relieving. And a huge success. Thank you again for uploading this video it was very helpful, and I urge anyone to check it out before replacing the entire compressor. My AC was working fine and then all of a sudden would no longer engage and turn on. Everyone told me it had to be the refrigerant but I didn't buy it after a few tests. Glad I went ahead with changing out the coil

This is a great video. My clutch wasn't engaging and my mechanic quoted me $1200 to replace the whole compressor, recharge the system, etc. Then I saw this video and decided to give it a try. Complete success. A couple of comments though: (1) I ordered the coil from Amazon and the one I received had the same connector as the main connector coming down from the battery so I didn't need to re-solder; (2) I was confused by the use of the zip-tie to keep the belt on the pulley as I couldn't see how that wouldn't get caught up in the serpentine belt as it reached the top. I ended up using the zip-tie until it touched the serpentine belt then cutting it off and using my hands (carefully!) to guide the a/c belt the rest of the way. Hard work but manageable.

thanks a lot. I was able to do it, video was very helpful

Really helpful to diagnose the issue. Much appreciated!

Thank you. I didnt do it yet... but this was a great video... you were very detailed

Thank you for the video! I did this on my 2009 Mazda 3 yesterday. For anyone wondering, you can avoid the soldering if you purchase the same coil with the heat sensor included. All you need to do is take off the four screws on the bottom of the compressor to lower it down and the sensor slides into a little hole on the top of the compressor in the back. Ours took a little work to get out, but we were able to get it out and put the new sensor in.

Great Video. My 16 YO daughter was able to do about 50% of the work. For those about to do this I offer tje following small changes. 1) the coil from Amazon doesn't have to be cut. Four bolts hold on the compressor and the AC lines are flexible. Lower the compressor down and to the side about 6 inches and there is a Philips screw holding on the little button. I just replaced it all. 2) I left the shield in place so I could shove a screw driver in the small hole for leverage to hold the clutch in place. 3) I put the belt on the same way, bit went clockwise.

Thanks for the video ... My coil was open as well ... I picked up an AC compressor Clutch Kit from Amazon for $42 delivered ... it came with the coil with original harness and thermal sensor and clutch ... the only place locally that had it wanted $38 for just the coil ... I'd reccomend the Kit to anyone replacing the coil ... again thanks !!!

Cool, I ordered the parts and should be getting them today or tomorrow. Crossing my fingers.

What a great video, thanks I think I have this same issue and I didn’t want to buy a whole ax compressor because it’s my beater winter car but not having ac to defogg the windows gets annoying sometimes.

Nice video bro keep up the good work

Totally helpful brofesor, 🤘🤘🤘

Great, great job!! Thanks so much!

Nice work. Thanks for the vid

excellent video, and very helpful. I was able to replace the coil of my mazda myself, I followed all the steps exactly (I also soldered the wires) and it was very easy to do all the work with the necessary tools. It worked very well when I started it, the compressor worked, the clutch engaged, no strange noise, but no cold air, so I decided to use a can of ac-pr0, but the pressure was after the green, until the red. so don't fill in anything. The next day when I started it in the afternoon, I wanted to try again and turned on the AC, but I heard a very strange noise, so I opened the hood and discovered that the AC clutch does not spin again, it makes a grinding noise, and a few sparks come out. So I decided to leave it for the moment, I think that at the end of everything I will end up taking it to the mechanic, (that would be my last option), for now I will continue looking for videos of good people as useful as this one and see if I can fix it myself. I hope I can do it, since it is too expensive to take it to the mechanic, so my best option is to try it myself as far as I can. since I have more time than money to fix my car. and more in these difficult days. Thank you very much for such an excellent video.

Great video! Please solder wires better though, that connection won’t stand the test of time.. thanks for your time and expertise, making this video sir.

Great video with lots of information. My only concern is rotating the crankshaft counter-clockwise. According to the service manual, that could potentially loosen the crackshaft bolt, throw the timing off, and destroy the engine. I don't mean to sound overdramatic, but isn't that a real possibility? What are your thoughts?

Great work! Well done 👌🏻🌠🌅🌌🕊

Great video thankyou, hopefully they stock just coils in Australia 😊

Great job, thanks!

Very helpful. Thanks!!!

Super helpful thank you.

Gracias por tu aporte al conocimiento.

Good job, good datail

Great video - i did more or less the same thing on my Mazda 3 2013 - coil was gone and the bearing on the pulley was broken. Got a replacement kit from a donor car in Kenny U Pull 25$ and save myself from a compressor change, with who knows how much labor - i guess approx. 1000 dollars! A/C worked and feel great :)

If the radiator fan is not working would it stop the compressor from turning on?

Thanks for sharing this video. My 07 mazda's clutch is completely not spinning by hand and/or by tapping it with a socket. Based on what you mentioned its probably something inside my compressor and not the clutch correct?

Just curious do I have have to cut and solder the older connector or could I just use the new one? Never soldered before and not sure if using the replacement wire/sensor if it would cause issues.

Hey i got a question when i turn my ac on it works when im driving vut when i come to a stop it turns my car off.do u know what rhat would be ? Thank u

great video thanks

Jesus - I have an 05 Mazda 3s and I've had mechanics replace two compressors over the years and finally gave up on the A/C ever functioning properly in my car. I may tear into this this summer since this sounds exactly like my prob - the AC works great in mine whenever it decides it feels like it wants to actually run. This could be the issue given what I've had happening so definitely gonna give it a look.

Awesome video! Thumbs way up☝ Thanks for posting! Should save me tons of money.

2007 Mazda 3s 2.3L question. 104k miles. Noisy grinding from compressor that continually got worse over 2 weeks or so until it smoked. After idling for 10 min or so, smoke coming from clutch assembly. Clutch does not engage with AC button on and max AC setting. Engine off, I can turn clutch assembly by hand. Cut the belt, it's OK. No noise or smoke. Can I just replace the clutch without removing entire compressor? I can turn it by hand but it smokes when running for a bit. Is clutch semi-engaged?

Hello!!! I don't know if you can help me out with my compressor, in my car the clouch is working, but stop some times, turns on and off, and when that happens stop blowing cool air, so can you give some advise what could it be?

The compressor should run if my conditioned air is not charged?

Great Video, dropped you a like

hello in my case it was working but after clicking on button in car it stopped and not working again is possible that problem is in electronic with button ?

So Update on the Car. I finally got the Pully off but had to buy a $30 CAN Puller to get it off sadly. Now just in the middle of getting the Coil off. Just curious do I have have to cut and solder the older connector or could I just use the new one? Never soldered before and not sure if using the replacement wire/sensor if it would cause issues.

Thanks man !

PID DIY Una Pregunta donde venden el repuesto para poder comprar un repuesto de estos y asi poder arreglar mi compresor x favor

Hey, I am hoping you can help me out here. I drive a 2005 Mazda 3 and I have an issue with my AC. I noticed when I turn the AC on in the car all I am getting is warm/hot air; However, after watching this video, I have noticed that the clutch is not engaging/or spinning at all. Could that be the same problem as shown in the video or do I have something else going on?

Does anybody know what happens if you aren’t getting 12v or any volts at all? Am I using the multimeter wrong or could it be the wiring? I’ve changed all the fuses and relays btw

Nice ziptie trick. I might use that as well. Are there any other methods if that fails for me?

On what site did you find that part I need it

Anyone know if this will work with a 2012 mazda 5?

Can you post a link to where you bought the new coil? I think I have the exact same problem

fantastic!

Where did the thermal sensor go? Does it have a spot somewhere or is it just tucked in someplace?

Wow! Thank you so much! I will try this on my Mazda! It seems to be the same problem! From a Frenchman from Québec!

Nice Omega! I take mine off when wrenching.

You did a great job on this video... I followed it to fix my AC... definitely a money saver. Before doing this however, I checked the clutch Fuse and the AC relay. If any of them had failed, the AC had shown the same fault. 5 stars for the detailed explanation. ✨️ . Thanks.

It's interesting that you say it's a 2.3L engine. You have a canister oil filter. We have a 2008 with the non-turbo 2.3L and it has a cartridge filter. That wouldn't seem logical to have the same engine with two different filter types. And thank you very much for the video. We had the A/C go out in about 2011, which resulted in a new compressor. Mazda covered the part (almost $800!) and I covered the labor ($125). I'm guessing that this was the issue. It's doing it again now. I think I'll try this first, after checking it of course. Thanks again!

Great video. Lot of people in the comments section are having good luck following these instructions but what PN are people using? Autozone, Oreilly's, and RockAuto do not have a replacement part. Only place I've found is on Amazon and I'm a little hesitant to buy my car parts from them (no experience from them though). Any help is appreciated.

Where did y’all buy the coil at? Can’t find it anywhere?

Mine cut out a while back... mechanic said it's the compressor but it makes no noises.. nothing it operates just fine the air just isn't cold..

Where did you get the clutch coil? Can you please send me the link?

thanks for this i will try this. one question, is the radiator fan powered by the a/c compressor? i compared my mazda 3 with another one and when the a/c is enabled, the radiator fan turns on. i am wondering if i have to replace this too if this is the case?

Nice job. That coil is $$$!